If you need to clear some debris, maybe intimidate a grizzly or just put on a good show for your friends, a robot dog packing a laser-guided flamethrower might be just the thing you’ve been looking for.
Priced at just under $9,500, the Thermonator is the latest offering from Throwflame, an Ohio-based company whose products have already been a hit with some Wyomingites.
Drone-mounted flamethrowers might dominate the air, but the Thermonator is all about owning things at ground level.
According to the company, the Thermonator can be controlled remotely as it traipses all sorts of terrain. And its laser-sighted flamethrower has an effective range of about 30 feet.
It also comes with onboard mapping and navigation systems, according to the company.
‘It Could Get Somebody In A Lot Of Trouble’
Noted Wyoming outdoorsman Paul Ulrich of Pinedale told Cowboy State Daily that he’s already sold.
“That is outstanding. It’s absolutely outstanding. ‘Sharks with fricken’ lasers on their heads’ are outdated now,” he said, making a sly “Austin Powers” reference.
Military veteran and retired law enforcement officer Vince Vanata of Cody was a bit more cautious, and not quite ready to run out and buy a Thermonator.
“Oh, it could get somebody in a lot of trouble. However, it might be a good tool for Forest Service controlled burns,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
The company touts the high-tech, incendiary contraption as being useful for a variety of applications, including wildfire management, agriculture, snow and ice removal or just plain “entertainment.”
Let’s Go Clear Some Ditches
Much like an actual dog, the Thermonator uses quadruped locomotion to cover ground at a good clip, and is even capable of jumping a few feet into the air, according to the company.
Ulrich said he was already dreaming of uses for one — from the seriously practical to the absolutely absurd.
On the practical side, he said a Thermonator would be hugely useful for spring clean up on his property.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been clearing out my irrigations ditches during the spring and wishing I had a quicker way to do it,” he said. “A flamethrower would be great. But a flamethrower robot dog, that would be even better.”
In the realm of pure fantasy, he imagined the device could be handy in grizzly country.
“When I go into grizzly country, instead of taping bear spray to my real dog, I could just take a flamethrower robot dog and have no worries at all,” Ulrich said.
Worth Every Penny
He added that he thinks a Thermonator would be worth every penny of the price, which might match that of a decent used car.
“It would be worth the money all day, every day,” he said. “Although, my wife would probably consider it a frivolous expenditure.”
Even so, he can see the Thermonator catching on in Wyoming. After all, what could say “the Cowboy State” better than a robot dog that shoots flames?
“I think for Wyoming, that’s a necessity,” Ulrich said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
